Jesus was always zealous for souls,
Though, at times, he left the crowds and villages,
Once being led into the desert by the Holy Spirit to pray and fast,
Defeating the temptations of the devil,
At the beginning of his mission.
In “The Dark Night,”
St. John of the Cross explains this
As not only detachment from that which is sensory,
But also “way” which is not clear, requiring constant dialogue with God.
And this way may appear to us as a zig-zag,
Looking back, we can see that it is,
Actually, very straight.
Maybe I can be more clear.
All people naturally desire Love, Happiness, Life, Goodness, Unity, etc., in principle,
All people naturally desire a “god” in principle,
Since there is no division in Unity itself,
(A principle, itself, unites information)
We naturally desire a God who is,
Love, Happiness, Life, Goodness,
Unity, and Principle.
A principle serves as both,
A way to an end and,
The end itself.
(God is father to his own sonship,
And Son (Jesus, The Way) to his own fatherhood.)
Goodness is Perfect since it can never lack any Goodness (be evil),
Therefore Goodness can never change.
Since material can change,
Ordinarily, it can never,
Be Goodness itself.
But since the human body (or bread) can have Goodness,
Goodness can be a human body miraculously,
Which draws our attention,
And increases the faith,
In God’s merciful,
Glorification,
Of the human body,
Which is necessary for having Perfect Happiness (Goodness).
So, we detach from the desire,
For that which is material,
And attach to God,
Such as through,
Fasting.
The “straight line” I mentioned, is the unchanging principle we naturally know.
(It is self-evident, but not always chosen with our weakened will),
But since God (Principle) is ordinarily not material,
Following him appears crooked,
In the visible world,
Which changes.
For example,
We may receive money from another out of Love,
We may give money to another out of Love,
The instances of money changes,
But the Principle of Love,
Remains the same.
We may receive Life from our parents,
We may give Life to our children,
The instances of Life changes,
But the Principle of Life,
Remains the same.
So, from the unchanging God,
Who is Goodness, Love, and Life,
Flows all our material and spiritual needs.
But we can share in God’s divinity as sons of God,
By caring for the material and spiritual needs of others.
The Church (symbolically the “Body of Christ”),
Is like a mother who gives Life to members,
Through the second birth of baptism.
Mary, The Mother of the Son,
And so our mother as well,
Is also another symbol,
For the Church…
“In the mystery of the Church, which itself is rightly called mother and virgin, the Blessed Virgin stands out in eminent and singular fashion as exemplar both virgin and mother. Through her faith and obedience she gave birth on earth to the very Son of the Father, not through the knowledge of man but by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, in the manner of a new Eve who placed her faith, not in the serpent of old but in God’s messenger, without wavering doubt. The Son whom she brought forth is he whom God placed as the first-born among many brethren (Romans 8:29), that is, the faithful, in whose generation and formation she cooperates with a mother’s love.”
(Vatican II, Lumen gentium, 63)
So,
In relation to the OP,
How does this apply to evangelization?
